


Trypanophobia

by Roxiepluto



Category: Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Crack Relationships, F/M, Hospitals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-12 18:35:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11167659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roxiepluto/pseuds/Roxiepluto
Summary: Miyako really hates hospitals but when she gets injured Joe insists she go and even promises to go with her. With that one encounter changing their perceptions of each other, will their friendship bloom into something more?





	1. Hospital Visit

Miyako was stood at the cash register at her family’s convenience store; she was on duty tonight, which would be fine on any normal day but today it was all she could do to ignore the dull throbbing in her hand.

Yesterday morning she had visited her grandmother’s house to check up on her and her lovely little terrier. The dog was a lovely old thing but he was half blind and very sore in his old age and Miyako hadn’t realised just how painful his leg was at the moment. She had gone down to stroke him but must have hit a very sore patch because he turned around and sunk his teeth straight into her hand. He had let go as soon as he’d realised what he had done but the damage was done and Miyako’s hand had been a mess. Her grandmother had been terrified that the dog would be put down for it but Miyako had assured her that it was an accident and had promised not to tell anyone. She had kept her promise; none of her family was aware because she kept her hand covered or hidden at all times.

The door to the shop jingled and Miyako let out a jolly, “Welcome to the store.” As soon as she saw who came in she gave a big smile, “Hey there Joe, how are you?”

“Pretty good thanks Miyako, I just finished my last exam for the semester, how are you?”

“I’m good, thanks,” she replied as she watched him disappear down the sugary isle. Joe Kido was a fairly frequent customer to their store since he didn’t live very far away and more often than not he came in to buy something sweet. Miyako always found it funny when he was training to be a doctor and always harped on about the healthiness of certain foods and yet when it came to himself, he was quite happy to eat chocolate and sweets. She was proved right when he carried his tell-tale favourite selection of sweets to the register.

“You always tell us to watch what we eat but you are such a hypocrite,” she teased as she scanned an item through with her left hand.

“Hey, it’s do as I say and not as I do, right?” he replied with a laugh.

She put her hand in front of her mouth as she giggled but she realised too late that he had seen her hand that was cloaked in an oven glove. He blinked curiously at it before she hurriedly hid it behind her back and carried on scanning items.

“Why are you wearing an oven mitt? On only one hand?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Damn her hand for not being able to fit a normal glove on any more. The sooner it healed, the better. “Uh, it’s all the fashion right now,” she replied weakly, but it was obvious from his frown that he didn’t believe her.

“What did you do to your hand?”

“Nothing,” she insisted, quickly bagging the last item.

“Then why are you trying to hide your hand?” he asked insistently.

“I’m not!”

“Then show me your hand.”

Damn it all; when did Joe get so annoying. He obviously wasn’t going to leave until she showed him so she sighed in resignation, “Fine, but don’t go all doctor on me.”

“I promise nothing,” he replied, frowning sternly at her. She sighed again but took off her oven mitt, trying not to hiss as the material rubbed against her hands.

“Jesus Miyako, how are you not in pain right now?” he asked as he gently took her hand and pulled it closer to have a look at it.

She tried to ignore the heat rushing to her cheeks at the unexpected touch as she replied “I am…but only a bit”

“What happened?” he asked, his gaze flickering around her hand as if trying to size up the wound.

“Uh…I got bitten by a dog yesterday,” she replied with an awkward smile, “But it’s no big deal, it’ll heal up soon enough.”

“Miyako!” he chastised and Miyako tried not to flinch as she realised Joe had definitely entered doctor mode, “This wound has gotten infected, didn’t you even slightly wonder why your hand had swollen up so much?”

“It’ll heal eventually,” she insisted, looking anywhere but at Joe who was still holding her hand, already knowing what he was going to say next.

“No it won’t; if you just leave it, you’ll get really ill,” he replied, “We’ve got to take you to the hospital to get this sorted out.”

“No,” she squeaked out in reply, pulling her hand out of his grip, “I mean…its fine, I’ll do it later.”

Joe seemed surprised at her response and his frown deepened, “Why not go now?”

“I’m still working right now,” she replied before realising she was being too serious and adding, “duh.”

He smiled slightly and asked, “Well, when do you finish?”

“In an hour and a half,” she replied before relenting, “I’ll go when I finish.”

Joe raised an eyebrow as he handed her the money for his groceries, “Alright, but make sure you do.”

She nodded and waved goodbye as he left the store before putting the glove back on her hand. Like hell was she stepping foot in a hospital with her hand looking like this. No. She would rather put up with the pain and wait for it to heal normally than go there.

‘Sorry Joe, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do,’ she thought to herself, knowing that as soon as her shift finished she was heading straight to her room to watch television instead.

The rest of her shift was laboriously dull and she kept herself entertained by restocking shelves and doodling with her left hand. Eventually her shift came to an end and her sister; Momoe appeared from the stairs to take over for the last shift of the evening and she took her chance to head upstairs where she was able to relax for about five minutes before Momoe called upstairs.

“Miyako, your friend is here to see you.”

Miyako wondered if Kari had come over and yelled down, “Send ‘em up.”

A few moments later there was a knock on her door and she immediately realised it wasn’t Kari because she wouldn’t have knocked. She frowned and stood up, making her way over to pull open the door.

She tried not to groan as she saw Joe standing in her doorway, one eyebrow raised as he said, “This is a funny looking hospital.”

“It’s getting late,” she replied, trying to put a smile on her face but failing, “I’ll just go tomorrow.”

He shook his head firmly, “No Miyako, you need to get it looked at now or the infection will spread and it’ll take a lot more than a small trip to the hospital to get you back to normal.”

“Look Joe!” she exclaimed, having had it with his determination to stick his nose in where it didn’t belong, “I can deal with it just fine, it’s none of your business anyway.”

He frowned at her, “If one of my friends is doing something to endanger themselves then it is my business to help them.”

“Will you stop being such a drama queen! I’m not endangering myself, I’m just letting it heal naturally,” she shouted, and stomped back into her room so she didn’t have to see his face.

“Oh? I’m the drama queen? Look who’s talking Miyako,” he argued back. It was unusual for him to raise his voice but when it came to people not looking after themselves properly, it always made him angry.

“How dare you!” she shouted back, knowing he was right but not allowing herself to admit it, “It’s my hand and my choice.”

“It’s a stupid choice Miyako, why are you being so stubborn about it?” he asked “Are you scared of hospitals or something?”

She flinched before quickly replying “Of course not,” but Joe had seen her reaction and his anger melted away into compassion.

“Ah, now I understand,” he muttered gently before walking towards Miyako, who still had her back turned to him and put a hand on her shoulder, “It’s okay to be scared but you can’t let fear stop you from healing.”

When she didn’t respond he walked around her and stood in front of her, one hand still on her shoulder whilst the other one tilted Miyako’s chin so that she was looking up at him, her eyes slightly glassy.

“Hey, how about I go with you,” he suggested with a supportive smile, “That way you won’t have to go alone so it’ll be less scary.”

Miyako glanced away and muttered, “But I really don’t want to go.”

“If you let the infection spread and do nothing about it, then it could end up killing you,” he explained, watching Miyako’s eyes widen before adding, “And think how sad that would make everyone, to lose a good friend like you.

Miyako gave a snort of laughter and shook her head, “I think you’re taking this a bit too far.”

“Maybe so,” he replied with a smile, “But you still need to get it looked at.”

She sighed and nodded, “Alright, as long as you stay with me.”

He smiled and nodded, “Of course I will.”

Miyako felt her heart pound in her chest at the prospect of having to go to the hospital but she did her best to put her brave face on, not wanting Joe to lose any more respect for her than he already must have. Miyako grabbed her jacket and the two made their way downstairs and past Momoe who was still standing at the register.

“I’ll try to have her back before it gets too late,” explained Joe as he passed. As soon as Joe looked away, Momoe raised an eyebrow suggestively and gave her a thumbs up. Miyako tried to ignore her instinct to throttle her sister as she followed Joe out of the door but made a note to murder her later. She loved all her siblings but sometimes they really got under her skin, especially her two sisters.

“We’ll have to take the train over to the hospital since it’s a bit far to walk,” explained Joe, “I would happily drive you but there’s never anywhere to park, or if there is, it costs an arm and a leg just to park there, trust me, I’ve checked.”

Miyako gave a laugh, trying to ignore the nerves over her destination, “I forgot you could drive, that must be useful, I wish I was old enough to drive.”

“Don’t wish away your youth, you’ll become an old fogey like me soon enough.”

“You’re not old, there’s only 3 years between us anyway,” she replied with a shake of her head.

“I keep forgetting you’re a year older than the others,” he admitted before asking, “So how’s school going?”

They made conversation for the whole journey to the hospital and it successfully distracted her enough that her nerves disappeared until they reached the entrance where her feet froze and she found herself locking up as she stared at the door in apprehension.

Joe looked over to her and said, “It’ll be okay.”

Miyako knew he was right but the fear was so ingrained in her that she felt like she would implode if she walked in. Suddenly she felt Joe take her good hand and through the haze of panic she looked over to him. He squeezed her hand gently in a reassuring gesture and she felt her heart rate start to slow as she took a deep breath and tried, in earnest, to calm down. His thumb rubbed gentle circles on the side of her hand and he waited patiently for her to calm down.

“Do you feel better now?” he asked gently. She nodded, feeling embarrassed at the fear that had overtaken her. She was a Chosen child dammit and she had faced far scarier things than a hospital visit; she needed to get herself to buck up.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself before she walked in, trailing Joe behind her, their hands still linked. Moments later they were sat down in the waiting area and Miyako felt all her energy drain out of her at the lack of anything to face. Joe shifted slightly next to her and she realised with embarrassment that she was still holding his hand.

She flung her hand away and said, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

He gave her another of his patented gentle smiles and shook his head, “It’s fine; carry on if it helps you feel better.”

Miyako knew he was trying to be kind but the idea of holding hands for a long period of time wasn’t something she could do with a guy without becoming self-conscious. And she was already self-conscious enough as she sat in the waiting room and looked around at the other people waiting. Hospitals were always depressing and draining from what little she could remember of being here previously, which only added to her dislike of them. She was generally a happy and high-energy person so places like these felt like they drained her very essence and it wasn’t a nice experience.

They were both quiet as they waited in the sea of patients, lost in their own thoughts until Joe asked, “How are you holding up?”

“I’m alright,” she replied, though even she knew she didn’t sound happy, “I just always feel drained in these kinds of places.”

Joe nodded, “I understand, I always feel that way after I spend time here for college.”

Of course; Joe must have to spend a lot of time here or in other hospitals for his course since he wanted to be a doctor. She suddenly had a newfound respect for him. “Wow, I forgot you would have to spend time in hospitals and things, how do you cope with it?” she asked.

“I just try to remember that I’m making a difference,” he replied with a smile, “Though I suppose that doesn’t help you right now.”

She gave a small laugh and Joe must have sensed that talking with him was helping her relax because he kept talking and asking questions and coaxing her to keep talking. Not that he had to try hard; Miyako was more than happy to have something to concentrate on amidst the sick and injured people around her. She couldn’t help but be thankful that Joe was so kind and reliable, and he made her feel comfortable even in a place like this. She could tell Joe would be a great doctor someday. Miyako was so wrapped up in conversation that it came as a shock to her system when she heard her name being called and she felt herself freeze up again.

Joe grabbed her hand without a word and pulled her up before walking towards the kindly looking nurse with a clipboard who was waiting for them at the door. Miyako did her best to smile at the nurse, but she was sure it came out as a grimace and she felt herself squeeze Joe’s hand tighter. The nurse must have noticed her discomfort because she gave Miyako a kindly smile before leading the two of them into a consultation room down the hallway where a doctor was waiting for them. The doctor was older but gave off an air of a kindly older grandfather and Miyako felt herself calm down as she and Joe sat down at the chair next to him.

“What can I do for you today?” he asked, though Miyako was sure he had already read the paperwork they submitted earlier.

She didn’t need words as she gingerly lifted her swollen hand up for the doctor to see. The doctor gave a hmm of consideration as he looked at her hand and asked “A dog bite?”

She nodded and he asked his next question, “When were you bitten?”

“Yesterday morning,” she replied quietly, feeling like a child who was being scolded for misbehaving.

The doctor merely nodded though and explained, “It looks infected without a doubt but we’d better just get an x-ray done to check that you haven’t broken anything, and then we can sort that infection out.”

The doctor smiled at her and she nodded her thanks, vaguely aware that her hand hadn’t left Joe’s once since they were in the waiting room. She couldn’t bring herself to let go though; Joe was like an anchor, keeping her calm against the fear swirling in the pit of her stomach. Though she knew it had been fine so far, as they were escorted back to the waiting room to wait once more, she knew without a doubt that there would be needles involved somewhere along the line and there was nothing she hated more in this world than needles. She was pretty sure that was why she hated hospitals so much; because needles would almost always be involved. Sticking sharp objects into yourself was idiotic in her mind and her fear seemed normal to her, though obviously not to everyone else around her.

Joe managed to coax her back into conversation once they were back in the waiting room, but Miyako still couldn’t get herself to let go of his hand, even though it was making her start to feel self-conscious, because it felt oddly comfortable.

“I know!” exclaimed Miyako, before she realised how loudly she had said that and quietened right down, her cheeks now blushing red as she continued, “It sucks being the youngest sibling.”

Joe nodded in agreement, “I’m sure you have it better than me though; I’ve got to try and live up to my two older brothers, but your family seems to get along so well.”

She laughed and shook her head, “No way! We might seem like it but we argue all the time and drive each other crazy, and last week Momoe rearranged my room, saying she was cleaning and now I can’t find anything.”

Joe chuckled and sighed before wistfully replying, “That sounds nice.”

Miyako tilted her head in confusion, “Are you not close with your brothers?”

He shook his head sadly, “Not really, we all just do our own thing.”

Miyako suddenly felt a stab of pity for Joe; her siblings may drive her insane but she couldn’t imagine not being close with them. They probably just needed someone to drag them all out of their own little worlds and remind them what a family was.

“I should come round and throw a party!” she exclaimed, already planning it in her head, “No-one can resist my parties and then you brothers can all socialise and stuff, it’ll be great.”

Joe must have sensed her seriousness because he waved his free hand in front of his face, “Thanks for the offer but I don’t think that would work out so well.”

“Aw man, but I had everything all planned out,” she replied with a pout.

He smiled, probably more from relief than anything, before they were conveniently called back in. Miyako felt a lot calmer this time; maybe because she hadn’t stopped holding Joe’s hand since visiting the first doctor. Did he really have that much of a calming presence on her?

They led her into a room and got her to lay her hand flat down on the table before angling a machine over it.

“We need you to stand outside whilst we taker the x-ray,” they explained to Joe and she felt a small lump of panic jump to her throat as Joe released her hand.

The panic must have been clear in her eyes as she looked up at him because he patted her shoulder, “I’ll be right back; you’ll be fine.”

She nodded and glanced around the room to try and keep herself occupied but the hospital smell suddenly seemed stronger in here and she found she had to close her eyes and concentrate on keeping her breathing even.

After a few moments, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see that Joe had returned, “You did great.”

She felt her heart rate calm down the second he put his hand on her and she had a sudden inclination to attach herself to him for the duration of the hospital stay. She knew her fear was irrational but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with.

They were shooed back out into the waiting room and she latched herself onto Joe’s hand once more. “I’m sorry for being so clingy, it just seems to calm me down,” she admitted quietly when they sat down.

He gave a chuckle and shook his head, “It’s fine Miyako, I’ve dealt with my fair share of fears over the years and I know how hard it is at the time so I don’t mind at all.”

“Thanks,” she muttered, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

They sat in silence for a while until Miyako asked, “They’re going to put a needle in me at some point aren’t they?”

Joe was silent for a moment before he replied, “I would think so.”

Miyako gave a shaky sigh before she admitted, “I think needles are one of my biggest fears and I think that’s the main reason I’m scared of hospitals.”

“Why are you scared of needles?” he asked gently.

She was quiet as she remembered the trip to the hospital when she was younger; the one that had caused her to do everything possible to avoid needles and hospitals ever again. “When I was younger, I hurt myself and went to a hospital and they had to give me an injection,” she explained, “I wasn’t crazy on needles even as a kid but then what kid is?”

Joe nodded and Miyako continued, “I remembered being really stubborn about not needing it and I think the nurse got really angry because in the end they got another nurse to hold me down so they could do the injection. After that, I swore I’d never let anyone put a needle in me again.”

She felt Joe’s hand tighten around hers and looked over to see an angry expression on his face and wondered if it was because of what she had said, “I’m sorry, I know it was a stupid thing to do…”

“No, I’m not angry at you,” he interrupted, “I’m angry at that nurse for being so unprofessional and giving you such a fear.” She didn’t say anything as he continued; “Now I understand why you were so against coming here, I’m sorry for being so pushy earlier.”

She shook her head, “It’s fine, you didn’t know.”

“Don’t worry about it anymore though; you will have to get an injection of some kind but I won’t let anything like that happen to you ever again, I promise.”

Miyako looked up and met his serious and intense gaze and wondered if it was his pride as a trainee doctor that was making him say all this, or if it was because she was important to him. She couldn’t deny that she secretly hoped it was the later. “Thanks,” she murmured quietly with a small smile.

They made conversation for another ten minutes before they were called back in and ended up in another room, with another doctor who informed them that the x-ray showed that bone wise, everything was fine. She heard Joe sigh in relief but she hadn’t been too worried about broken bones; she had been sure she didn’t have any anyway.

“All that we need to do now is put a cannula in your arm to give you some antibiotics via an IV drip and then we’ll see how it goes.”

Miyako heard the words ‘IV’ and felt herself tense up; she knew that meant a needle was going to be put in her arm. She felt him put his other hand on top of the one he was holding as he spoke to the doctor.

“She has a fear of needles, is there anything we can do to help with that?” he asked.

The doctor thought for a moment before he suggested, “We could put numbing cream on the area? But it will take a little while to work.”

“I’ll be fine,” she spoke up, “Just do it and I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” asked Joe, giving her hand a squeeze, “You don’t have to be brave for my sake.”

She shook her head resolutely, “I need to get over my fear sometime so I’ll manage.”

She knew she was expecting a lot of herself but she was determined to show Joe that she wasn’t a complete write-off and she really wanted to get over her fear of needles once and for all. She knew her fear stemmed from being forced into having an injection but this time it was her choice to have one and Joe was there to keep her calm. It would all be fine. She nodded to the doctor and turned away. Joe squeezed her hand and she looked up to meet his gaze.

“I’m really proud of you Miyako,” he said. She smiled at him even as she felt the doctor put a band around her arm to help make the veins more visible. He must have noticed her disbelief though because he added, “No, really, when I was your age I was never able to face my fears like you are now.”

She gave a small huff of laughter, being careful not to move as the doctor cleaned the area, “You’re only 3 years older than me though.”

“I can barely face my fears now,” he replied with a wry smile, “So 3 years makes a difference.”

“Ok, I’m just going to put the needle in,” the doctor explained.

Miyako felt herself tense in preparation but as if knowing the perfect thing to distract her, Joe suddenly said, “Mimi said she was going to be visiting this summer.”

“Really?” she replied in glee, the prospect of seeing the older girl always filling her with joy even as she felt the scratch of the needle in her arm, “Oh, that’s so great, I can’t wait to see her again, I wonder what I should wear.”

Joe chuckled, “I’m sure you’ll look nice in anything you wear.”

She felt herself blush as she murmured a quiet, “Thanks.”

“Alright, the needle is all gone, and the cannula is in place so I’ll just attach it to the drip and we’ll need to wait about ten minutes for all the fluid to go in and then I’ll come back,” he explained before adding, “and for someone who is scared of needles, you did very well.”

She smiled at him in thanks and watched him leave but couldn’t bear to look at either Joe or the thing in her arm so she looked around the room instead but found nothing at all to keep her interest.

“It feels weird,” she muttered eventually.

“Yeah, but it will fix you right up,” he replied with a smile. She nodded and they lapsed back into silence; they had already covered all of the normal topics she could think to talk about and now she was feeling super self-conscious after his unintentional compliment.

She kept stealing glances at Joe, who thankfully was reading the posters on the wall despite sitting at an awkward angle because both his hands were holding her good one. She tried to ignore the blush that stained her cheeks as she realised that Joe was actually quite good looking. It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed when she first met him but they were both younger at the time and she had superficially only noticed traditionally handsome guys. Joe was more of a geeky handsome, which wasn’t a bad thing at all, but it was something that she had only just seemed to notice recently.

Joe suddenly looked back from the posters and she wondered if he had caught her staring but he only smiled as he asked, “So have you and the others got anything fun planned for the summer?”

Right. More conversation with a guy she had just decided was handsome. A guy who was currently holding her hand. She could do this…

“Well, my 18th birthday is in a few weeks so me and all the younger guys are gonna have a big night out,” she replied, trying to distract herself from the situation by thinking about her party, “And I was thinking about organising something to get all the chosen together, including all the older ones since we haven’t all gotten together in a while.”

“That sounds like fun,” he replied, “It’d be great to see all the others again; I’ve been so busy studying that I’ve barely had time to eat, let alone socialise.”

She gave a laugh, feeling herself calm down again as she replied, “You really should look after yourself better Mr. Doctor.”

He gave a grimace, “I’m not a doctor yet which is why I need to study so hard.”

She had a lot of respect for Joe and people like him who had something they wanted and were putting everything they had into working towards it. Everyone else in their group seemed to have ideas of what they wanted to do and were working hard but comparatively she felt like a disappointment.

Joe must have noticed her face fall because he asked, “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the negative thoughts, “It’s nothing much, I was just thinking how nice it would be to have something to work towards but I don’t have any idea what I want to do with my life.”

“There must be something you can see yourself doing?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think being a housewife is something I can actively work towards,” she replied with a sigh.

She sensed Joe try to swallow a choke of laughter and she turned to glare at him. He held up his hand defensively and explained, “I’m sorry but I just can’t see someone as energetic as you as a housewife.”

She pouted, “So now I can’t even be a housewife?”

He placed his hand back over hers and replied, “That’s not what I said, I just think you have too much potential to be content with just being a housewife.”

“So are you saying being a housewife is a bad thing?” she replied, totally missing the point he was making.

“Of course I’m not,” he replied with a sigh, “It was a compliment to you Miyako, a compliment!”

“Oh…thanks,” she replied, the blush returning to her cheeks, “I guess I just don’t know what else I could do…”

Their conversation was interrupted by the doctor walking back in, at which point Miyako looked up to the drip and realised that it was already empty.

The doctor removed the drip from the thing in her arm (at least, that’s what it felt like since Miyako still didn’t want to look, even if there were no needles involved right now) before turning to her and explaining, “I think we’d better have you come back tomorrow to get another dose in, just because the infection is so bad and then we’ll take things from there.”

“Alright,” she said, not really wanting to come back but knowing that she was going to see this thing through until the end. She sat there and waited for the man to take the thing out from her arm but he merely taped the thing safely to her arm.

She looked to Joe for an explanation who replied, “You’ll have to keep the cannula in your arm until tomorrow.”

“…You’re joking right?” she replied; after all why would they leave something like that in her arm when they could just take it out and put it back in tomorrow or something.

He shook his head and seemed confused at her confusion as he explained, “It does too much damage to your veins otherwise.”

“Oh…” she replied as she got up from where she had been sitting and stood up to go, “Alright…”

He squeezed her hand reassuringly, “Don’t worry; I’ll come back with you tomorrow.”

She felt her heartrate speed up at the prospect of spending more time with Joe and nodded despite the blush on her face, “Yeah….thanks Joe.”


	2. Nightclub

Joe couldn’t help but think that he really hated nightclubs right now, as he stood at the bar of a very packed and very loud nightclub. The music was pounding in his ears and the disco lights were flashing around the darkened room. He hated bets too; since it was a lost bet that had brought him here.

His classmate who he was on friendly terms with had told him he should get out more often before all the exams had started and when he suggested going to a nightclub, Joe had looked at him like he’d grown another head.

“Oh come on! It’s good fun and it’ll help you let loose; you might even pick up a girl.” Joe had rolled his eyes and looked back at the book he had been reading.

“Okay, okay, how about this?” began his friend who didn’t know when to give up, “If I manage to get a better score than you in the final exams then you go to a bar with me.”

Joe raised his eyebrow; this was the person who played on his phone or generally didn’t pay attention in class, let alone take notes. How did he expect to get a better score?

“And if I win?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant, despite feeling like it was a sure win.

His friend grinned, “Name your price.”

Joe had a think for a moment before deciding, “If I get a better score than you, then you have to start paying attention in class.”

His friend grimaced, like he’d just had to eat something horrible and paused before nodding, “Alright, but no backing out.”

With that he held his hand out for Joe to shake and Joe gave a laugh as he shook it, “That goes for you too.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me.”

Now Joe understood why his friend was so unconcerned; he had gotten a whole grade higher than Joe and now he felt like an idiot on top of the dread of being in a place that was not designed for someone like him. His friend had insisted that he would be with him the whole time but instead he was out somewhere in the crowd having a good time.

Joe turned back to the bar to have a sip of his (non-alcoholic) drink and wondered if his friend would even notice his disappearance before he felt someone put a hand on his shoulder.

“Joe-sempai”

Joe turned around to see a very attractive woman with wavy purple hair standing in front of him. She was wearing tight black jeans and had a very figure hugging black t-shirt on. She seemed vaguely familiar.

…hang on a minute…

“Miyako?” he exclaimed over the music, hardly believing that this was the same person.

She winked at him, “The one and only.”

“Wow; you look really…” _attractive…sexy…_ “…different.”

She giggled and gave him a light slap on his arm, “You sure know how to compliment a lady Joe-sempai”

He raised an eyebrow at the sudden addition to his name, “Since when do you call me sempai?”

She stuck her tongue out and winked, “Since it sounds cute when I say it.”

Joe couldn’t help but feel incredibly awkward; it wasn’t that she wasn’t an attractive woman but he was so used to seeing her as a kid alongside Takeru and Hikari that it felt strange to have her suddenly flirting with him. He had no idea how to react; Miyako was acting so differently to normal and everything she was saying and every move she was making seemed to be overly sexual, even for the usually hyper-energetic girl.

She finally moved her gaze to the barman behind Joe and asked for another drink before handing over the money and suddenly Joe understood; Miyako was drunk. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t realised this earlier but now he had, her actions made sense.

“How much have you had to drink?” he asked.

“Not enough,” she replied with a grin.

Joe pursed his lips and asked, “Did anyone else come with you?”

At that question she laughed for a moment before exclaiming “Hikari and the others tried to join me but the bouncers wouldn’t let them in because they weren’t old enough.”

“So you came in on your own?” he asked, incredulous that Miyako would make such a reckless decision.

“Like I was gonna miss out on all this,” she replied, “And all the guys keep buying me drinks, isn’t it great?”

Joe couldn’t help but twitch as the anger built up, “You realise the guys are probably just trying to get you drunk so they can take advantage right?”

She giggled “It’s fine; I’m not gonna let myself be taken off by some guy, I’m more capable than that.”

He growled, “If you have much more to drink, you’re not going to know what you’re doing anyway.”

She pouted as she took the drink that the barman gave her and downed half of it; Joe half believed she was doing it just to spite him when she gasped for air afterwards and grinned, “I’m going back to the dancefloor.”

She ignored his protests and wormed her way back into the throng of dancers, though Joe could still see her. He sighed, knowing he had no choice but to stay now, to make sure that Miyako stayed safe.

The pounding techno beat continued to pulsate throughout the club and Joe knew he had to keep an eye on Miyako but even so, he shouldn’t have been staring quite so much. He couldn’t help it though, Miyako’s entire body seemed to get caught in the music as it bobbed and moved in ways that showed off her physical attributes extremely clearly to anyone looking.

He clearly wasn’t the only one looking though as another guy danced towards her until they were dancing face to face, smiling and laughing with each other. Joe kept a disgruntled eye on them, wanting to jump in already but knowing that Miyako wasn’t completely hopeless. They continued to dance to each song, moving closer and closer until Miyako turned round and began grinding against him. Joe almost spat out his drink at the gesture but knew he had to move in before Miyako got too in over her head.

Joe pushed his way through the dancing crowd, getting jostled the entire way until he was right in front of Miyako who was still dancing right against the guy, whose hands were now resting on her stomach.

He felt something inside himself snap as he grabbed hold of Miyako’s hand and pulled her away from the guy and to himself, wrapping an arm around her shoulder protectively. The guy looked over to him but the anger on his face must have been evident because the guy shrugged and moved away, obviously not wanting a fight. Miyako on the other hand, was another story.

“What did you do that for, I was having fun,” she argued, pulling away so she was looking up at him.

Joe glared at her, “If that was fun then you need to look at your priorities.”

“It’s none of your business,” she shouted over the music.

“If my friend is making herself a target to be taken advantage of then it is my business,” he argued, “His hands were all over you!”

Her anger seemed to fall away as she asked, “Were you really that worried about me?”

“Of course I was, you’re my friend.”

She nodded her head before getting a mischievous glint in her eyes, “Well since you’re that worried about guys dancing with me, then why don’t you dance with me.”

“Wait…what?” he replied, vaguely aware of Miyako starting to sway with the beat.

“If you’re dancing with me then no other guys will bother me,” she explained, her eyes never leaving his. He felt strangely like a gazelle being targeted by a lion.

“But I can’t dance…” he replied, backing away slightly.

Despite being drunk Miyako moved quickly; putting her hands on his hips and pulling him closer to her as she tried to get him to move his hips to the beat.

“Anyone can dance,” she replied, “You’ve just got to let loose.”

He felt himself blush bright red at Miyako’s sudden closeness, unsure how to deal with the drunken girl in front of him. It wasn’t that he found her unattractive but she must be drunk out of her mind to be flirting with him and he felt like he wasn’t allowed to feel anything but uncomfortable, despite being a tiny bit happy that a woman with such high standards considered him to be attractive enough to flirt with.

“Uh…Miyako…what are you doing?” he managed to ask, her hands still resting on his hips and forcing them to sway to the beat.

“Trying to get you to loosen up,” she replied, finally moving her hands from his hips so she could lift them up and lock them behind Joe’s neck, bringing their faces closer together.

“I…I don’t think it’s having the intended effect…” he managed to stutter. He felt himself panic; Miyako was not making wise decisions right now and if anyone saw them right now they would probably assume something inappropriate. He was meant to be making sure she was safe; not letting her put her hands all over him and leaving her with embarrassing memories when she sobered up.

He knew drunk Miyako would hate him for this but Sober Miyako would thank him later; he gently reached up to take her arms in his hand and lifted them off his shoulders, using them to gently push Miyako away from him. She narrowed her eyes in confusion.

“We shouldn’t be doing this, we should get you home” he explained, hoping that she would be able to see sense in what he was saying.

Luck obviously wasn’t with him though as she widened her eyes in surprise briefly before her expression turned to one of anger.

“No way, if you don’t want to be here then go but I’m not leaving yet,” she replied, tugging her arms out of his grip and stomping straight over towards the bar. Joe watched from the middle of the dancefloor, still a little baffled from how close Miyako had been. He watched her order another drink and gave a sigh, wondering how he’d ended up having to try and look after such a wilful girl who didn’t want to be looked after.

He carefully wove his way off the dancefloor and decided that talking to Miyako was no longer an option; he would just have to wait until she was either ready to go, or too drunk to stay. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he took up a spot at the side of the dancefloor where he could keep an eye on Miyako if she decided to go back to dancing. But she didn’t. She just kept ordering drinks and drinking and when a guy came over to talk to her, Joe had been ready to intervene if she got too friendly but she must have snapped at him because he left in a hurry.

He was confused; she had been so into it before, so why had she suddenly changed her mind? Was she still angry at him?

He watched as she must have eventually decided she didn’t want to drink anymore before she made her way back onto the dancefloor, much more erratically this time, the heavy drinking having taken away control of her motor skills. She swayed for a bit before she went pale and wandered slowly towards Joe, not meeting his eyes at all.

“I don’t feel so good,” she admitted quietly and Joe had to lean down to hear her over the loud music, “please take me home.”

Joe felt his chest tighten at how pitiful she sounded right now and replied, “Of course, let’s go.”

She nodded and he put an arm round her shoulders to help keep her upright as they slowly moved out of the nightclub and back out into the warm summer night air.

They kept moving at a slow pace as they crossed over the street to walk along the quieter path around the park. Miyako wasn’t making conversation and Joe didn’t trust himself not to start lecturing her if he started speaking so they stayed in silence as they made their way round the park.

Suddenly though, Miyako broke away and kneeled down before promptly puking her guts up in the nearby bush. It was only Joe’s medical training that kept him from wrinkling his nose at the sight. He quickly squatted down next to her and gently pulled her hair out of the way as she continued to vomit into the bush. He gently rubbed her back, knowing that there was little else she could do now but bring it all up.

Joe could feel the young girl shaking and he noticed tears making their way from her eyes as her vomiting slowed to a stop. He made soothing sounds and continued to rub her back in hopes that it was helping her feel better.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, tears still running from her eyes.

“It’s okay,” he soothed, “It’s better to get it all out.”

She shook her head but made no attempt to move as she cried, “No not for that…well actually for that too, but I’m sorry for making you so uncomfortable in the club.”

He smiled gently, even though Miyako couldn’t see it, “It’s alright, I was just worried about you doing something you’d regret, after all how drunk do you have to be to flirt with me?”

She shook her head, “I only need to drink to feel confident enough to do it.”

He paused his hand on her back and asked, “What are you talking about?”

“I have a bit of a crush on you,” she admitted quietly.

He felt his brain skip a step as it struggled to process what it was hearing. Miyako had a crush on him? That certainly explained her behaviour over the evening, but from what he knew about Miyako, and he was realising that he didn’t know as much as he wanted to, she wasn’t the sort of girl who could hide her feelings.

“You…do?” he asked quietly.

She nodded her head, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink colour and Joe wondered if his cheeks were red too; he certainly felt warm all of a sudden. He’d never been confessed to before. He was well aware that he wasn’t the sort of person most people normally had romantic feelings for; having friends like Matt and Tai taught him that very quickly, so this was a first. He couldn’t say he’d ever thought of Miyako as a potential romantic partner before; he’d always considered her as a girl but she was 18 and seeing her in the club tonight had certainly let him see her in the light of a woman. But she was drunk right now, even with the alcohol working its way out of her system she still probably didn’t know what she was saying.

“You’re still drunk Miyako,” he eventually replied, “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“That’s not true,” she shouted, turning her head to look him right in the eyes, “I do like you.”

Joe looked into her eyes and found he was still a little unsure despite her earnest look but he knew either way, now wasn’t the time to be discussing something like this. “If that’s true then we can talk about this when you’re sober.”

Her shoulders sagged and she gave a small nod, “Alright.”

Once Miyako was feeling slightly better, Joe helped her stand up and they continued their slow trek back to Miyako’s place. It took about twenty minutes and the whole route was spent in an awkward silence as both of them simply battled with their own thoughts.

When they finally arrived, Miyako tried to get her keys out of her pocket but the door was suddenly thrown open and narrowly missed the two.

“There you are! We’ve been worried,” exclaimed a young man with glasses, who Joe could only deduce was Miyako’s brother, “You said you’d be back by 11.”

“It’s fine Mantarou, it’s only…whatever the time is…” she replied, her arm waving around as if in argument.

Mantarou sighed before finally looking to him with a sceptical look, “You’re a friend of hers?”

He did his best to bow, despite supporting Miyako, “Yes, My name is Joe, we’ve been friends for a few years and I happened to see her in the club and wanted to make sure she got home safely.”

His sceptical look faded and was replaced with gratitude as he started to take Miyako from him, “Thanks, we really appreciate you looking after Miyako.”

He shook his head as Miyako finally slid away from him, though she refused to look at him still, “It’s no problem at all.”

“I’ll see you later Miyako,” he said, and Miyako merely nodded, her gaze not moving from the floor.

“Don’t be so ungrateful Miyako,” he chastised before giving a nod to Joe, “Thanks again.”

Joe smiled and said goodbye as the door closed in front of him.

“Come on you drunkard, if you can drink you can walk up stairs,” he heard Mantarou through the door and he tried not to laugh as he imagined the relationship the two siblings had.

He began to walk away from the door and wondered what he should do now. Miyako had confessed to him and he would have to face her eventually; he saw her all the time when he came to buy food. But the truth was, he still didn’t know how he should respond. Part of him could imagine them going out on dates and spending time together; she was an amiable girl after all and he enjoyed the time he spent with her. But part of him was convinced that it would never work and it was silly to even try since it could ruin their friendship, and that was all ignoring the 3 year age gap.

Relationships really weren’t his forte…He needed advice.


	3. Advice

Joe wasn’t quite sure how it was he was sitting at a booth in a café the next day with Sora and Mimi sat opposite and looking at him expectantly. He had only called Sora to ask for some advice and yet now he was here…with both girls.

“Go on Joe, tell all,” insisted Mimi, taking a sip of her colourful drink, “Who is she?”

He felt himself blush as he replied, “Why do you presume I’m going to tell you.”

“Because you’re here for dating advice and this is your payment,” she replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

He was NOT going to tell them that it was Miyako. Most importantly, he still didn’t know how he felt about her and on top of that he didn’t want to embarrass her by telling everyone about her crush on him.

Sora must have sensed his reluctance because she intervened between them and reassured him, “It’s fine, you don’t have to tell us the details, but you’ll have to tell us some of what’s going on so we can give you the advice you want.”

Mimi pouted but knew she was beaten, although she was probably already thinking of a new plan to get him to tell her who it was. He smiled gratefully at Sora before working out what to say.

“Well…there’s this girl I know and I had never thought of her in a romantic way before but then when she was drunk she confessed to me,” he explained, “I’m not sure if I believe her but I said we’d discuss it when she was sober.”

“And then what happened?” asked Sora when Joe stopped talking.

He shook his head, “I haven’t seen her since then.”

“So what’s the problem then? You should ask her out when you see her next,” said Mimi nonchalantly, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He blushed, “But I don’t know how I feel about her yet.”

“Then go on a date with her and find out,” she replied, taking another sip of drink.

He tried to ignore the annoyance building in his stomach; this was why he had gone to Sora for advice and not Mimi and replied, “I don’t want to risk our friendship; she’s important to me.”

There was silence for a moment before Sora said, “You make it sound like a relationship with this girl wouldn’t work, why is that?”

Joe tried to ignore the blush on his face as he replied, “It’s just that we’re really different people and there’s a 3 year age difference.”

“Younger or older?” asked Sora.

“She’s younger.”

“Ahh, now I see,” she replied. Joe was confused now and looked over to Sora who was watching him with an understanding smile.

“I think you do like her, at least a little bit, but she’s younger than you so you feel like you shouldn’t like her and that’s leaving you confused about how to respond to her.”

Joe listened to what Sora was saying and thought about Miyako. After seeing her in the club, he definitely couldn’t deny that he was attracted to her; she was a very beautiful young woman but he didn’t spend enough time around her to know if their personalities would mesh well together. At first glance there was no way an energetic girl like her and a studious guy like him would fit together but he knew that there was more to both of them than that, including their link to the digital world. He briefly let his mind wonder if Gomamon and Hawkmon were friends before he realised that Gomamon was friends with everyone so they must be. He remembered their trip to the hospital the other day and how they had been able to talk to each other so easily and how they had seemed to understand each other quite well despite supposedly opposite personalities.

“So what should I do?” he asked eventually.

“Ultimately it’s up to you,” she replied with an expression that showed how much she wanted to be able to answer him, “But I don’t think Mimi’s idea is a bad one; just explain to this girl exactly what you feel and that you want to try a date to see if you would work.”

“But what if it ruins everything and I end up hurting her?” he asked, worried about breaking Miyako’s heart by being so nonchalant with her feelings.

Sora gave a small smile and shook her head, “You can’t control this girls feelings, you just have to do the best you can and if it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t work out.”

“But she’s already confessed to you so she’s probably already feeling hurt,” added Mimi, “Since you brushed her confession off and haven’t spoken to her since then.”

Joe blushed, realising she was probably right but argued, “I didn’t brush it off, she was drunk and didn’t know what she was saying.”

Mimi raised an eyebrow, “I’m sure she did know what she was saying; a drunk confession is still a confession.”

“And you know all about drunk confessions?”

Mimi pouted, “No need to get snarky with me.”

Joe stopped, realising Mimi was right; he shouldn’t be taking his confusion over what to do out on her. He sighed “Sorry.”

Mimi smiled gently at him and laid her hand over his on the table, “I’m sure she’ll understand if you just talk to her.”

Joe knew they were right and, really, he knew he wouldn’t mind taking Miyako out on a date, he was just all too aware of the uncertainty of his own feelings and the pain that he might cause Miyako if he realised that a relationship between them couldn’t work. He couldn’t put it off though; he needed to talk to Miyako.

“So…are you gonna tell us who this girl is then?”

“Mimi!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short but the last two chapters are longer. Hope you enjoy anyway!  
> Roxie x


	4. Catching Miyako

Her friends had all noticed that something was wrong with her because she had been unnaturally quiet ever since her foray into the nightclub the other night. She tried to be loud and outgoing as she normally was but her heart wasn’t in it and her friends seemed to know. Daisuke tried to get the gossip about what the nightclub had been like but Miyako couldn’t think about it without feeling like her head was frying with embarrassment at how she had acted around Joe, so she made up a generic response and had made an excuse to leave. He hadn’t asked again.

Hikari had been much more tactful and had asked around the subject but Miyako could see what she was doing and she felt guilty for making her friends worry but her head was filled with embarrassing images of herself drunkenly flirting with Joe. Oh god; he must hate her now, and she had confessed too! He would never want to speak to her again.

She didn’t know for sure if he was avoiding her because she was actively avoiding looking after the store during the usual times he came by and had even paid her siblings a few times to cover her shifts. They didn’t understand why but none of them complained. She couldn’t bear the thought of looking at him after how she had acted.

As she made her way out of the school building she was briefly glad that she didn’t share any classes with her younger friends because it meant they couldn’t catch her as she was leaving school and try to talk to her. Right now she just wanted to…

Her brain froze as she processed what she was seeing. Standing outside the school gates was none other than Joe himself, looking amongst the crowd of students filing out. She felt her face heat up as she froze where she was and she was sure she was blushing bright red. Maybe if she turned around she could still escape?

“Miyako!”

She turned to see Hikari and Takeru catching up with her and felt her mind panic as she realised she was trapped. Hikari must have noticed her strange behaviour because she frowned and asked, “Are you alright, you look really red.”

“I’m fine,” she managed to reply as the others finally caught up with her.

That was when they finally noticed Joe standing outside the gates and Takeru smiled and waved, “Hey Joe!”

Joe’s gaze finally fell over to them and he waved back before focussing on Miyako, his eyes softening slightly. It didn’t help her blush which only seemed to deepen as she forced her legs to move after her friends who were both rushing over to greet the older Chosen.

“Hey Joe, how have you been?” asked Takeru, “It’s been way too long.”

Joe smiled and nodded, “It really has, I’ve been so busy studying for these final exams and now that they’re all finished I almost don’t know what to do with myself.”

Hikari and Takeru laughed and Joe continued on, “So when do you guys break up for summer?”

“Our last exam is in a two weeks and then we finish for the term but lucky Miyako her has her last exam next week so she’s got a whole extra week off,” explained Takeru who looked to Miyako with a grin that she tried desperately hard to reciprocate but she didn’t think he’d fallen for it even though he didn’t say anything.

“Well that’ll be nice,” commented Joe as he looked at her. She knew she was still red but she did her best to look back at him; he didn’t seem particularly angry at her though and she couldn’t help but think he was here to turn her down after her confession.

“So Joe, what brings you all the way out here?” asked Hikari.

“I’m actually here to have a word with Miyako, if you two don’t mind,” he explained, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Takeru and Hikari gave each other a confused glance, obviously wondering if the two had ever interacted much before but merely nodded and gave their goodbyes.

Miyako tried not to panic as Joe watched them leave before fixing his gaze back on her, oblivious to the other students who were still filing out, “You are a very difficult person to track down when you don’t want to be found, did you know that?”

She felt sure that her ears were beginning to burn at how embarrassed she felt; that answered her earlier question about whether he was avoiding her. Apparently he wasn’t, he was trying to find her instead.

He must have noticed her embarrassment because he gestured down the road and asked, “Shall we walk and talk?”

She nodded mutely, wishing this ordeal was over with already so she could go and dig a deep hole to hide in somewhere. They walked in silence for a little while as the crowd around them thinned out, leaving less people to overhear them.

Eventually Miyako couldn’t take it anymore and stopped walking. It only took Joe a moment to realise she had stopped and he quickly turned to see what the problem was.

“I’m so sorry for my behaviour the other night,” she apologised, bowing to him to try and make it clear how sorry she was, “And thank you so much for getting me home safely.”

“You don’t have to apologise Miyako…” he started.

“Yes I do!” she interrupted, still bowed down, “I acted extremely inappropriately and I’m so sorry for making you uncomfortable and taking advantage of your kindness.”

“You didn’t….”

“I did, and I’m sorry for saying all those things to you, I wasn’t thinking and I’m sorry…”

Suddenly she felt a hand lightly on her shoulder as Joe said, “For one thing stop apologising and for another please stop bowing, it makes me feel like an old man.”

Miyako hesitated but stood up straight, Joe’s hand still on her shoulder and met his gaze. He smiled, “That’s much better.”

Gah; she was sick of blushing already. She looked away from him and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. He didn’t say anything; obviously realising what she was doing but he did take his hand off her shoulder and she tried not to let herself feel disappointed.

After a moment she looked back at him and braved a question, “What did you want to talk to me about?”

This time his face flushed slightly and he glanced away as he said, “I wanted to give you a proper answer to your confession.”

She felt her face suddenly heat up again, making all of her effort to calm herself a moment ago pointless. Was he really going to just talk about it so openly? What should she do? Should she deny it?

In the end she didn’t say anything, realising that she would probably only make it worse. The sooner he turned her down gently, the sooner things would go back to normal and the sooner she could find some other guy to crush on.

“In all honesty, I had never thought of you in that way before, maybe because we don’t hang out all that much but I do think you are a very attractive woman with lots of admirable qualities.”

Miyako couldn’t help but give an amused smile despite the seriousness of situation. Only Joe could make the answer to a love confession sound so mechanical and scientific; was he really a young man or an old one trapped in a young man’s body?

Joe’s blush intensified, obviously worried that he had said something wrong, “What?”

“I’m sorry Joe” she managed to reply, “You just sound so methodical about responding to a love confession.”

“W…well how am I meant to respond then?” he stuttered out, frowning at her, probably for interrupting a speech.

“Sorry,” she apologised, trying to get rid of her smile and look more serious instead, “Go on.”

Joe pursed his lips and Miyako tried not to smile as she watched him form a pout that seemed so out of character for him.

“As I was saying,” he started, his face turning back to serious, “I don’t know that I feel exactly the same but if you were interested…maybe we could go out on a date sometime to…see if we…can work out…”

Wait, what? Miyako looked straight into Joe’s eyes, expecting him to grin and say it was a joke any moment. But then, this wasn’t Davis and a prank, this was Joe, being sincere as he always was. He was really willing to give things a try?

A big smile slowly spread itself across her face, her blush now at a much more manageable level as she replied, “I’d like that.”

She was glad of the slight blush that was on Joe’s cheeks because it meant he was feeling slightly self-conscious about the whole ordeal too.

“I’ll walk you home,” he said, looking away and down the path, “I need to buy a few things anyway.”

Miyako felt her smile grow even wider as they began to walk; a boy was actually walking her home! This was a dream come true.

“You’re not getting more sweets are you? A certain doctor tells me they’re bad for you,” she teased, hoping to get Joe to loosen up again.

Joe smiled and glanced over, “Sounds like a good doctor.”

She giggled and they continued to make small talk for a while until Joe asked, “So, are you doing anything this weekend?”

Miyako shook her head and felt the butterflies in her stomach as he said, “If you wanted maybe we could do that date tomorrow?”

Miyako nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, that sounds great but what did you want to do?”

Joe pursed his lips, thinking for a moment before he admitted, “I don’t know, do you have any ideas?”

Miyako blushed; she did have an idea, “Feel free to throw it out but it’s been a while since I saw Hawkmon with all my exams so maybe we could have a picnic in the digital world or something?”

Joe’s smile lit up, “That’s a great idea, it’s been a while since I saw Gomamon too.”

She could tell from Joe’s expression that he wasn’t just indulging her; he really did like her idea and that made her really happy.

Before long they arrived at the store and Joe disappeared into the aisles as Miyako walked over to Mantarou who was manning the tills at the moment since it was one of his days off from college. He gave her a knowing smile and she had to resist the urge to kick him as she went past. She paused behind the till though, feeling like she should wait for Joe to leave before making her way upstairs; and it wasn’t just so she could spend a little more time in his presence…

Mantarou wisely said nothing and after a few minutes, Joe reappeared with an armful of things; not just sweets. When Joe saw her looking at his purchases he gave a grin, “I told you I wasn’t just buying sweets.”

She grinned back, “I guess I should have taken your word for it.”

Mantarou rung the items through the till and after Joe paid, he looked to her and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

She nodded, her cheeks flushing, “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He gave her a last smile before he turned and made his way out of the door but the second the doors closed, Mantarou turned to her and asked, “Is he your boyfriend?”

She felt her face flush again as she replied, “No he’s not, not that it’s any of your business.”

“You think I don’t recognise flirting when I see it?” he asked, raising an eyebrow with a grin on his face.

She scrunched her face up and turned to make her way up the stairs, “It’s none of your business!”

She could practically hear the grin on his face as he yelled after her, “I totally approve by the way; he’s a decent guy.”

It’s not like having her brother’s approval mattered to her at all anyway but she couldn’t help the smile that eased onto her face as she made her way into her room. As soon as her door closed behind her, she pumped her fists into the air in victory; she was going out on a date with Joe! It wasn’t her first date ever but it felt like one of her more promising ones, considering their shared history as Chosen. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she thought of being able to spend more quality time with the older boy and she knew she needed to take her mind off the impending date or she would never be able to calm down.

In the end she decided to spend the time planning the group get together she wanted to arrange for all the older and younger Chosen to get together. She spent most of the evening sending messages back and forth on the D-3, trying to find out when everybody was free. Hikari called her up and even offered to help plan everything.

“Since Mimi will be over, we really will have the whole gang back together,” explained Miyako excitedly.

Hikari giggled into the phone, “I’m so glad you suggested this Miyako.”

Miyako grinned into her phone as she checked the replies from the others on her D-3 and it was during this lull that Hikari asked, “So what did Joe want to talk to you about?”

She momentarily froze up as she wondered what she was supposed to say. Hikari was her best friend but she wasn’t sure about telling her this; both for her own sake and Joe’s if it didn’t work out between them. The less people who knew about it the better.

Luckily it was that moment that her sister knocked on the door and loudly announced, “There’s a phone call for you.”

“Huh? Who would be calling on the main line?” she asked aloud before saying to Hikari, “Sorry Hikari, I’ll call you back.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to you in a bit,” she replied in a voice that clearly told Miyako that she would get her answers one way or another.

She hung up her mobile and opened her door to take the phone from Momoe who grinned and raised her eyebrows at her suggestively. She rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her before holding the phone to her ear, “Hello.”

“Hi Miyako, it’s Joe.”

Her stomach suddenly flipped at the unexpected phone call and she managed to reply, “Hey, what’s up?”

“Sorry to call you since I know you’re busy organising that get together right now,” he apologised.

“It’s fine,” she replied, realising that of course Joe had seen the mail; she had sent it to everyone after all.

“I just realised that we never decided on all the details tomorrow,” he explained, “I don’t know if you wanted to open a port at home or if you wanted to use the school computers?”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about it; my laptop is being repaired right now since I broke it last week so my place is no good…but the school’s closed and there’s a lot of work being done around campus so there’s no way we could sneak in,” she replied, realising that left them with no options if they didn’t want to make it obvious to their friends that they were going on a date, “…I guess that means we can’t go this weekend…”

She could hear Joe hesitate for a moment before he suggested, “My computer is pretty old but I presume it could still get us there.”

“Yeah, any computer should do the trick,” she replied, before adding, “But only if you’re sure it’s okay.”

“Of course it’s fine, I’ll come and pick you up in the morning and walk you back to mine,” he explained.

“Are you sure?” she asked, feeling like he was doubling the work for himself, “I can always meet you at your place.”

“It’s no problem, it means I can grab some stuff for the picnic too,” he replied.

“It’s fine, I can sort the picnic out,” she replied quickly, wanting to be of some use.

“But don’t you have to pay for whatever you take from the store?”

She felt herself blush as she realised that he was expecting her to use store bought food from the kitchen when she wanted to cook some things too. “I do but…”

“No buts, I asked you on the date so the food’s on me,” he insisted.

She smiled into the receiver, “You’re too kind Joe.”

He chuckled, “It’s nothing, so shall I pick you up around 10 tomorrow morning?”

“Okay,” she managed to reply, “That sounds good.”

“I’d better go but I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She said her goodbyes and hung up the phone, feeling her heart pounding away in her chest. It was a few moments before her door flew open and Momoe appeared with an incredulous look on her face.

“Momoe, what are you…?”

“You can’t let him buy the picnic, you need to make it,” she exclaimed, her arms high in the air.

Miyako frowned, unsure as to how Momoe knew before she realised, “You were eavesdropping on the other line!?”

Momoe grinned and nodded, “My cute little sister gets a call from a boy? Of course I’m going to eavesdrop.”

“Momoe! That’s not fair,” she argued, embarrassed that her phone call had been overheard by anyone, let alone her sister.

“Chill Miyako,” she insisted with a grin, “It’s a good thing I did or you’d be trying to bring store food to a picnic date.”

“What’s wrong with store food? It’s all we ever eat,” she replied, wondering if there was an easy way to kick her sister out of her room.

“If you want to impress a guy then you should make your own food,” she replied with a grin, “And then he’ll be all yours.”

Miyako pursed her lips, “But I’m not good at cooking like you are.”

“That’s only because you don’t do it enough,” she replied before grabbing Miyako’s hand and dragging her out of her room. “Come on, I’ll even help you, so we should get started now.”

Miyako was about to protest when the image of Joe enjoying a homemade bento popped into her head and she realised Momoe was right. If she wanted to impress Joe on this date then a homemade bento was the way to go. She could even make something for the digimon too.

“Alright, alright,” she replied to her sister as she was dragged into the kitchen, “Let me just text Hikari first since I was in the middle of talking to her.”

Momoe nodded impatiently before she began pulling things out of the cupboards. With that Miyako fired off a quick text saying she would try to call Hikari later before joining her sister in making a mess of the kitchen.

They started off with simpler foods before Momoe showed her some slightly more complex recipes too. Her first batch was pretty bad and she was tempted to throw in the towel but Momoe encouraged her to keep going and her second batch was much more edible. Momoe even told her they were better than her own ones which Miyako doubted but Momoe wasn’t one to exaggerate the truth.

One she finished all the food; she arranged it neatly into their boxes, trying to make everything look as appealing as possible before she put the lids on. Once that was done with she and her sister had a lot of fun trying to come up with fun foods for the digimon to enjoy and she had to admit that she hadn’t had that much fun with her sister in a while.

They had eaten a fair bit whilst making the lunches so they excused themselves from dinner before Miyako made her way back to her room and checked her D-3 to see all the responses from the other Chosen children. She had suggested a date for the get together and it seemed like everyone would be able to make it. She felt so excited to be the one organising everything and helping to keep everyone connected. It sort of felt like her role in the group; to remind everyone that they needed to spend time together as a big group, and she loved it.

She looked at her phone and suddenly realised that she still needed to call Hikari back. She hesitated though as she pondered what she could say to the question Hikari had asked before she had hung up. She hadn’t asked Joe if he wanted to keep it a secret but knowing the older Chosen he probably wouldn’t mind if she told Hikari. But she wasn’t sure that she wanted to tell her, even if Joe would probably be okay with it. If they didn’t work out together then the fewer people who knew, the better it would be for both of them. But at the same time, she couldn’t just lie to Hikari; they were best friends after all.

Her mobile ringing interrupted her thoughts and she looked to see that it was Hikari ringing her. She had been a few hours so she couldn’t blame Hikari for being the one to call.

“Hey Hikari, I was just about to call you back,” she answered.

“That’s alright, It’s just that Daisuke called to invite us all to go see a movie tomorrow if we wanted and Takeru and I are going so I wanted to see if you could come along too.”

“Sorry, I’ve actually got plans tomorrow,” she replied apologetically, “Which sucks because I bet you’re going to see that new film I’ve been talking about for weeks.”

“I think that was the general consensus,” replied Hikari with a giggle before she asked, “So what are you up to tomorrow then?”

She took a moment to prepare herself before she decided to tell Hikari the truth, “I have a date.”

“Really? Why didn’t you tell me about it before? Who’s taking you? Someone I know?” she blurted out, each question in quick succession.

Miyako grinned and giggled, “Which question do you want me to ask first?”

“Who is it?” she asked, “Someone from your class?”

“Not exactly,” she replied, “It’s not someone you would have expected and I feel the need to say it’s just a date and we’re not official or anything yet so don’t blame either of us if things don’t work out.”

“Just tell me already,” said Hikari.

“It’s Joe.”

There was silence over the phone line for a few moments before Hikari started laughing and said, “That’s awesome, now Takeru owes me money.”

“Huh?” was all Miyako could say in return.

“I told him something like that was going on between you two  when we left you at school, but he said there was no way because you were so different,” she replied, glee filling her voice.

Miyako blushed but couldn’t help taking that to heart; they really were completely different people after all. What business did someone like her have with being with someone like him?

Hikari must have noticed her silence because she ventured “Miyako?”

“This whole thing is stupid, I should just call the date off,” she replied miserably, “Even if the date did work out, we’d never stay together long, we’re just too different.”

“That has nothing to do with it,” argued Hikari, “Look at Izzi and Mimi after all; they’re as different as night and day but they’re in love and their relationship is as strong as ever.”

“But they’ve got all the adventures in the digital world to bind them together,” she argued, hating the self-doubt that was plaguing her as it often did over her crushes on boys.

“So do you and Joe, you’re both Chosen too,” she argued before taking on a softer tone, “I know you must be nervous but you shouldn’t doubt yourself so much after all he wouldn’t have asked you on a date if he thought it wouldn’t work.”

Miyako blushed, knowing Hikari was right. Sometimes she forgot just how well Hikari could read her after all their years as friends. “Thanks,” she muttered, “I needed to hear that.”


	5. Date

Joe made sure to arrive at the convenience store exactly when he said he would and was surprised to see Miyako ready and waiting just inside the door. She was dressed in a simple blue summer dress and a white sunhat but it looked remarkably good on the younger girl and was a stark contrast to the tight clothes she had worn to the nightclub the other day.

When he realised he had been staring, he did his best to look sheepish as he said, “You look nice.”

She beamed as he said it and he felt his own smile echo hers until he noticed she had a bag full of shopping in each hand as well as a small backpack on her back.

He frowned when he realised that she had probably gone ahead and bought all the picnic stuff despite his insistence last night and said, “I thought I was buying all the picnic stuff?”

She grinned at him but he could tell she was still slightly nervous as she explained, “I know but I didn’t buy anything…I cooked it.”

He couldn’t help his eyes widen in surprise as he realised the extra effort that Miyako must have gone to, and she had done it all for him? He felt a blush rise on his cheeks and managed to reply, “Oh…alright then…”

He watched as Miyako gave a quick goodbye to her sister who was sitting at the tills before she walked over to join him at the door and asked, “Ready?”

He bent down and took the bags carefully from her hands before making his way out of the door. When she didn’t follow he glanced over his shoulder to see her pouting at him.

“You coming?” he asked, still walking.

“You don’t have to be such a gentleman, I can carry something,” she said as she caught up with him.

He smiled over to her and shook his head, “It’s fine; they’re not that heavy and it’s the least I can do since you went out of your way to cook it.”

She gave a nervous laugh and admitted, “My sister was keeping an eye on me to make sure I didn’t burn anything since I don’t cook that often, so I hope it doesn’t taste too bad.”

Despite what she said, Joe was still touched by the gesture since he’d never had a girl cook something just for him before so he said, “I’m sure it’ll taste great.”

The walk to Joe’s house didn’t take long and he could tell that Miyako was surprised at the size of it by the way she looked at it.

“I forgot you’ve never been here before, huh?”

She shook her head as she followed him in and glanced back and forth between the well-kept garden and the house in front. They made their way in the front door ad it was quiet as they made their way up the stairs and along the hall.

Just as Joe reached out for the door handle a voice called out, “Are you trying to smuggle a girl into your room unannounced little brother?”

He flinched as he recognised his brother’s voice; hoping to avoid running into him at all but he found it annoyed him even more as Miyako cheerfully called out, “Hey Shuu, long time no see.”

His stifled a sigh as he looked up, not having realised that the two had ever met and watched Shuu smile at her, “It’s been too long, how are you Miyako?”

“I’m great thanks, how’s your research going?” she asked with a big smile.

He was confused now; he didn’t think he’d ever mentioned to the other Chosen about his brother’s research into the digital world. Shuu must have read his confusion because he turned to Joe and clarified, “We met when she was still a new Chosen during all that chaos with digimon escaping into the real world.”

Joe remembered that Christmas well; he and Cody had made a side trip to Australia. It was the strangest day of his life, bar none. So that was how they’d met? Why had Shuu never told him about it.

Shuu looked back to Miyako and smiled as he answered her original question, “It’s going pretty well actually since more people are getting digimon and their general existence is accepted now, our papers are getting read by more people and we’re getting commissioned to do more too.”

“That’s great,” she replied with a big smile and Joe couldn’t help the strange twist he felt in his stomach that she was smiling at Shuu that way. He was reacting like she was his and he didn’t want to share her; it was petty and he knew it but he couldn’t help himself as he blurted out, “If you don’t mind Shuu, Miyako and I have a very important date in the digital world and we can’t be late.”

Both parties seemed surprised at the sudden outburst but even more so as Joe grabbed Miyako’s hand and dragged her into his room. Joe wondered if she was going to say something as he stopped in front of the computer and he was right as she turned to him.

“What was that all about?” she muttered quietly, obviously aware of the fact that Shuu might be listening in.

He felt himself blush over his actions and shook his head, “It was nothing.”

Miyako raised her eyebrow as the gave him a pointed look, “That was not nothing.”

“Let’s just say there’s brother issues between us and they’re not going to get worked out in the space of a few minutes,” he replied sharply before feeling guilty as he watched Miyako’s face fall. He spluttered, quickly trying to correct himself, “Wait, I wasn’t having a go I swear, I’m actually really happy that you care but here just isn’t the best place to discuss it.”

She glanced up at him and nodded, taking a breath before she said, “Let’s get going.”

He felt his guilt settle in the pit of his stomach but nodded, knowing his face probably said everything anyway. She tapped away on the computer quietly for a moment and he felt himself open his mouth several times to speak but closed it again every time. She eventually pulled her digivice out of her backpack and opened up a portal before turning to him with a smile, like nothing had happened and gestured for them to go.

They stepped through and Joe felt the same sensation of falling that they always got before he landed and his face promptly met the ground.

“And she sticks the landing.”

Joe pushed himself up off the floor and looked to see Miyako standing up, her arms out like a gymnast who had just finished a routine with a look of pride on her face. He stared for a moment though as he realised that instead of the dress she was wearing a moment ago she was now back in her old digital gear, complete with her aviator helmet.

She glanced down at him as though only just realising he was down there and quickly offered her hand to help him to his feet, but in doing so she noticed that she was wearing gloves. She hurriedly pulled back her hand and looked down, quickly realised she was wearing her old outfit.

“Aw man!” she exclaimed loudly, pulling her gloves and hat off and dumping them by the monitor they had just appeared though, “I spent ages working out what to wear.”

As Joe sat up on his knees he couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction; Miyako was so fiery and withholding her emotions wasn’t something she was even capable of. It was one of the things that Joe admired about her; probably because he would like to be able to be more open with his emotions like she was.

Miyako glared down at him, “It’s not funny.”

That only made his chuckling worse as he replied, “I’m not laughing at that, I’m laughing at your reaction, besides you look great in whatever you wear anyway.”

Miyako pouted as a blush appeared on her face, “Whatever.”

He smiled before he realised that the bags he’d brought must have landed awkwardly too as he realised the various boxes had slid out of their respective bags and were lying near where he had landed; though he was glad to note that none of them had fallen open. He quickly put everything back together in the bags and when he went to get up he realised that Miyako’s hand was out again to help him up, a small blush on her face as she refused to look at him.

He smiled and accepted the hand, pulling himself up on his feet but once he got to his feet, neither pulled their hand away. Miyako looked down at their hands with a bright blush covering her cheeks as though wondering if she should pull away.

Joe squeezed her hand in response and began to walk along the grassy path, “It’s fine; we are on a date after all.”

“R…right,” she stuttered in response awkwardly as they made their way through the trees which eventually led to the beach.

“Took you long enough!”

They looked down the beach to see Gomamon and Hawkmon standing on the beach, waiting for them, just as they’d arranged.

Miyako let go of Joe’s hand and rushed down the sand where she pulled Hawkmon up and into her arms, squeezing him tightly despite his protests. He smiled briefly before moving his focus down to his best friend.

“Hey there buddy,” he greeted, putting his bags down before bending down to give his partner an affectionate pat on the head, “How are you doing?”

Gomamon grinned up at him and began chattering away about everything he’d been up to which apparently including racing with a seadramon. He never quite knew what to make of the stories his little friend made but he was always happy to listen.

“So, what brings you to this neck of the woods then?” asked Gomamon, changing the topic of conversation back to him.

“We’re here on a date,” he explained with a shy smile.

There was no reason to hide it from his friend after all; not that he intended to hide it if anyone asked him but he didn’t want to cause Miyako more hurt if things didn’t work out.

Joe glanced up to see Miyako happily in conversation with Hawkmon, her arms moving about animatedly and a big smile on her face as her eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness at being reunited with her partner. He was glad he had suggested his computer, even if it had meant running into Shuu; the look on her face was worth it.

He felt himself blush as he realised his thought process; did he want to make her happy? She was a friend and he held the happiness of his friends in high regard but he had a tendency to weigh the pros and cons of a situation before making a decision. Without knowing it he had counted her happiness as a game-changing pro, ignoring his own unhappiness in regards to his brother. Maybe she already meant more to him than he realised.

“Good for you!” replied Gomamon before he suddenly felt Gomamon’s claw slap him on the back and he tipped forward in surprise, putting his hand out to stop him from falling over.

“Oops, sorry,” he apologised as Joe pushed himself back up, “I forgot how unbalanced you are.”

Joe couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, glad to be back in the company of his friend before he realised just how much he would enjoy having Gomamon there over the summer break and offered, “Hey Gomamon, how would you like the spend the summer with me?”

Gomamon’s eyes widened in surprise before he beamed and jumped up, knocking Joe back down into the sand, “Yes, yes, yes!”

“Alright, I get it,” Joe laughed and pushed Gomamon away so that he could sit up, his partner looking up at him from his lap.

He looked over to see Miyako watching him fondly and he smiled as she said, “Hawkmon’s coming back with me too; this summer is gonna be great.”

“So what do you want to do now?” he asked, “Are you hungry yet?”

Miyako pursed her lips in thought, “Not really but I don’t know how well the food will hold out without a fridge, especially what I made for Gomamon.”

Gomamon immediately perked up in his arms, “You made me something?”

Miyako smiled at him, “Of course I did, silly, I wouldn’t leave you out.”

Gomamon grinned happily and jumped out of Joe’s arms before making his way over to Miyako and circling her. He got up and watched as Gomamon kept running and jumping around Miyako as she tried to walk forward to where the bags were sitting. Either Miyako or Gomamon mistimed their step though, as Miyako moved her leg just as Gomamon rushed in front of it. Thankfully Joe saw it happen in slow motion and managed to jump in and catch Miayko’s shoulders before she fell down; though she still ended up wither face in Joe’s chest.

He glanced over to see Gomamon wink at him and he narrowed his eyes, making his warning clear, “Be more careful Gomamon.”

“Aye Aye,” he replied before Hawkmon slapped a wing over his head to tell him off.

Joe tried not to smirk at the bird digimon and looked down to Miyako who had pushed herself back so she could look up at him. Her cheeks were blushed but it was obvious she was trying to fight off her embarrassment as she said, “Thanks Joe, I owe you one.”

He felt himself blush as he realised how close they were; at least as close as they had been when Miyako had been drunk at the club and had attached herself to him. Her eyes seemed to shyly meet his; their light brown colour becoming deeper as flecks of other colours became clear the longer he stared at them. He felt mesmerised; like she was pulling him in and yet, he was okay with it.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but I am getting rather hungry,” they heard Hawkmon say.

Regretfully he tore his eyes away from Miyako and noted the annoyed look on Gomamon’s face as he said, “Why’d you ruin the moment? Joe doesn’t get many!”

“The moment of what?”

Joe didn’t know whether it was the absurdity of Hawkmon’s response, the ridiculous truth of Gomamon’s comment or the fact that it was just a ridiculous way to interrupt what had been an intense moment but he burst out laughing and seconds later he heard Miyako join in, both of them letting go of each other as they tried desperately to contain the fits of giggles that they had found themselves in. It was made even worse though, as their two digimon looked at them like they had grown two heads, unable to comprehend what was making them laugh so much.

Eventually they managed to stop laughing and Miyako smiled over at him and wiped away her tears of laughter, “Maybe we should have lunch now?”

Joe nodded, a smile still etched onto his face from all the laughter, “Maybe we should move off the beach though or we’ll probably get sand in everything.”

“I came prepared!” announced a grinning Miyako as she pulled off her backpack and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a blanket.

“Normally I’m the prepared one,” said Joe who gave another snort of laughter, wondering how their positions were reversed.

“I’m sure you are; after all, what’s in that bag of yours?” asked Miyako glancing at the backpack on his back.

He gave an awkward smile and watched Miyako spread the blanket out on the ground as he admitted, “Mostly one big first aid kit.”

“You really think I’m gonna hurt myself again?” she asked with a grin up at him.

“No; I just learned to be extra prepared whenever coming to the digital world since you don’t always know when you’ll next get home,” he replied thinking back to the very first trip to the digital world with the older kids when they were all younger and thinking how utterly unprepared he, and everyone else, had been.

He hadn’t realised he’d been staring into space until Miyako said, “I forget that you guys were stuck there; I feel like me and the younger Chosen took the ability to come home for granted; you guys were so brave.”

He looked up at Miyako’s admiring gaze and wondered what he would have done in her shoes, “I actually think you guys are the ones who were brave.”

Miyako raised an eyebrow and looked at him like he’d gone crazy, “What are you talking about? You guys had to face the digimon and had to survive all at the same time.”

“It wasn’t bravery though; it was just survival but you guys saw all the danger and always had a chance to go home but you kept coming back anyway,” he replied, “If I’d had a chance to go home and never see the digital world again early on then I’d have taken it.”

There was an uneasy silence that settled over them and their digimon at Joe’s admission before Miyako said, “I don’t think that’s true; you’re a lot more brave than you give yourself credit for and you would never have abandoned Gomamon or your friends.”

“Yeah Joe,” added Gomamon, “You may not have been comfortable in your own skin, let alone the digital world back then, but you were always brave and you would have stayed to look after the others if nothing else.”

Joe smiled, realising the truth in Gomamon’s words, “Maybe you guys are right…”

“Of course we’re right!” replied Miyako, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Yeah, we’re always right,” added Gomamon with a grin.

Joe gave a laugh and nodded, “I guess so.”

Suddenly there was a stomach rumble and everyone turned to look at Hawkmon who was looking down sheepishly before he admitted, “I did tell you I was a bit hungry.”

He looked over as Miyako laughed at her partner, “Alright, I guess it’s time to eat.”

He grabbed the bags from where he’d set them down and placed them on the blanket in front of Miyako who had already sat down, before he made himself comfortable. He watched Miyako dive in the bags and hand Hawkmon and Gomamon their very own bento boxes before opening them for them, knowing that it would be tricky for the digimon.

“Wow Miyako, this looks really good, thank you,” exclaimed Gomamon, who was waiting for them to have their own food before eating his.

Miyako handed Joe a bento box and some chopsticks, her face blushing slightly as she said, “I hope you like it but if you don’t, don’t force yourself to eat it or anything.”

He smiled as he accepted the box, “I’m sure it’ll taste great.”

He opened the box and was awed at the presentation and look of the number of different lunch items she had made; wondering where to start. In the end he picked an egg roll and took a bite and was pleasantly surprised that it tasted very good. Even better than the egg rolls his mother made. His thoughts must have shown on his face because he looked over to see Miyako watching him with a small smile on her face.

He wondered if she had really been that worried about her cooking skills and so said, “It’s really good.”

“Good? This food is great,” exclaimed Gomamon through a mouthful of food, “I’d be living like a king if I could eat food like this all the time.”

Miyako gave a pleased and embarrassed smile as she replied, “Thanks Gomamon, I’m glad you like it.”

“Aww man Joe, can you just marry her already so we can eat like this every day,” whined Gomamon after eating another bit of food.

Joe tried not to choke on the bit of food he was eating at Gomamon’s sudden suggestion, wondering if his partner was trying to help him or just trying to tease him.

He tried to swallow his food to reply but Miyako got there first as she said “Gomamon! You shouldn’t tease him like that.”

Joe glanced between the two before Gomamon groaned, “Aww, but it’s so much fun to tease him.”

Miyako giggled before leaning over to pat Gomamon gently on the head, “That’s true but you should still give the poor guy a break now and then or he’ll get used to it and it’ll stop working.”

Joe watched in surprise as Gomamon seemed to think hard about that for a moment before he nodded, “Hmm…yeah, you make a good point.”

Joe could hardly believe it; teasing him was one of Gomamon’s favourite activities and yet a few words from Miyako and suddenly the digimon was agreeing to do it less. He suddenly had a newfound respect for the younger Chosen who looked over to him and grinned in victory.

He smiled back at her and they ate the rest of their meal in peace, with Gomamon and Hawkmon chatting away while he and Miyako occasionally chipped in. It was a very pleasant meal and Joe felt himself totally relax in the company of the others, in a way he hadn’t for quite a while.

When they finished eating, Miyako packed everything away in the bags before they sat quietly on the blanket, just relaxing as they stared out at the ocean. This date seemed to have been quite a success so far, showing him that they actually got along really well despite being such opposites, and making him realise that he could see himself spending a lot of time with Miyako.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Miyako next to him take off her boots and socks and roll up her trousers until she stood up.

“I’m gonna paddle in the water,” she announced, looking down at Joe expectantly.

He still felt full from lunch and wanted to just lie in the sun but she had put so much effort into making their lunch that he felt like he owed her one.

“Alright, I’ll come too,” he replied and he watched her smile happily at him before he yanked his shoes and socks up and rolled his trousers up and followed Miyako who was already walking towards the beach. Gomamon had already run ahead and waded in a bit deeper, allowing himself to float leisurely on the water whilst Hawkmon stayed on the sand, claiming he didn’t want to get his feathers wet.

Joe quickly joined Miyako in the shallow area, with the waves lapping against their feet where Miyako admitted, “I haven’t been to the beach in a while, even though we live right next to it.”

He thought about it for a moment before he realised that he hadn’t either, “Me neither to be honest; I guess we’re just so busy all the time.”

Miyako smiled at him before she looked down to the water and bent down to pull a little blue shell out, “The digital world is so beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed, looking at the pristine natural beauty around them and realising just how privileged they were to be able to see it all.

Miyako stood up and the two of them began to walk along the beach, admiring all the little shells and things they found along the way. Suddenly though, Joe’s foot hit something and he felt himself stumble. Miyako grabbed his hand and managed to pull him up in time to stop him from face planting right into the water.

“Thanks Miyako; that was a close one,” said Joe, glad to have avoided getting his clothes soaked. He was aware of the fact that he hadn’t let go of Miyako’s hand, as he turned to see what had tripped him, but holding her hand felt strangely natural and so he let himself. Miyako didn’t seem to be arguing, though her face had turned slightly pink.

He ended up doing a double take as he looked down in the water to see that he had tripped on a small crab. He bent down to look at it; not realising that the digital world had real world creatures other than ordinary fish.

Miyako bent down next to him too and spoke, “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crab in the digital world before.”

“Me neither,” he said, moving his hand down towards it so he could have a closer look. The crab moved though and swung it’s claw out defensively.

“He’s telling you to leave him alone,” explained Gomamon who was still floating lazily in the waves and Miyako gave a soft snort of laughter at his expense.

Joe nudged Miyako’s shoulder gently and replied, “Like you didn’t want to do it.”

Miyako grinned at him, “Of course I did; it’s just funny to hear Gomamon telling you to be careful instead of the other way around.”

“Touche,” he smirked, realising the irony of it and stood up, pulling Miyako up with him before they continued to lazily wander down the beach, their hands still intertwined as they chatted, picking up rocks and shells and being careful to avoid tripping on anymore crabs. Joe couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun doing something so simple and he knew it was all thanks to his company. He glanced over at her to see her carefully scanning the waters for more interesting shells and he felt his heart beat faster as he watched her. At some point between that night in the club and right now, he seemed to have developed a small crush on the girl currently holding his hand. He wanted to spend more time with her; he wanted to be with her.

At that thought, Joe suddenly stopped walking and Miyako turned to him in confusion before she asked, “Are you alright?”

Joe took a deep breath and looked right into her eyes, “I know the date’s not over yet but it’s been really fun so if you wanted…maybe we could do it again sometime?”

Miyako’s eyes widened slightly, “Really?”

He nodded; trying to ignore the blush that he knew was appearing on his face. Miyako’s face slowly broke out into a smile and she nodded happily, her hand squeezing Joe’s, “I’d really like that.”

He suddenly felt self-conscious and nodded back, replying, “Great, that’s good…I mean, uh…thanks.”

Miyako giggled as they started to walk along the beach again and he glanced over to see Gomamon give him his clumsy version of a thumbs up.

“I’ve never been so thankful for my fear of needles,” said Miyako suddenly.

Joe raised an eyebrow, “What are you talking about?”

Miyako smiled and explained, “That time you took me to the hospital, you were so kind that I ended up falling for you…”

Joe tried to ignore the blush on his cheeks as he remembered the incident, “Ah, that explains it; I did wonder what would make you fall for someone like me.”

Miyako nudged him gently, “Why wouldn’t I fall for someone as kind and handsome as you?”

Joe felt his whole face heat up at Miyako’s praise and managed to stutter out, “T…thanks.”

Miyako smiled fondly at him and continued to pull him along the beach, leaving Joe to wonder whether his heart would be able to keep up with such a frank and honest girl.

He smiled to himself though as he realised he was going to find out one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope anyone who has read this has enjoyed it. I had alot of fun writing it last year and it seemed a waste not to post it.  
> Roxie x

**Author's Note:**

> I have a weakness for crack pairings and actually wrote this last year. I re-read it recently and realised it wasn't as terrible as I remembered so I've edited the first chapter for your enjoyment. The rest of the chapters will be edited and posted soon.  
> Hope you enjoyed reading! Any feedback would be much appreciated.  
> Roxie x


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